TO TAKE A flyover of Steve Lukather’s long and storied career is to essentially reminisce about the heights of the past 40 years of pop and rock music. He is both an original member of Toto — who have sold more than 40 million records worldwide, including timeless hits like “Africa” and “Rosanna” — and a prolific solo artist, with an impressive nine albums to his credit, including 2023’s Bridges. These accomplishments alone would have most of us gratefully calling it a day. But when one takes a gander at the 18-page discography on Steve’s website — a comprehensive list of every session he’s ever done, for a veritable who’s who of iconic artists — the enormous impact he and his guitar have had on the world of music becomes clear. In this month’s lesson, we’ll look at some of the industrious guitarist’s most celebrated classic works, starting from the very beginning.
In 1977, Lukather (or Luke, as he’s often called) recorded his first sessions for singer/songwriter Boz Scaggs, who hired the then 20-year-old guitarist to lay down two solos on his album . Throughout Lukather’s solo in “A Clue,” one can already hear hallmarks of his distinctive playing as he
